How To Free Up Disk Space

Low disk space can affect server stability and performance. This guide helps you identify and free up disk space on your OpenPanel server.

1. Check Disk Usage​

Start by checking how much space is currently used:

df -h

To find large directories:

du -h / | sort -hr | head -n 20

2. Clean Up Docker​

Docker can quickly consume space with unused containers, images, volumes, and networks.

• To remove unused Docker data:

docker system prune

• To also remove unused volumes (use with caution):

docker system prune --volumes

🧼 Note: This only removes resources not actively in use. Review the list before confirming.

• View what's taking space:

docker system df

3. Clear Logs​

Log files often grow large over time:

• Delete rotated/compressed logs:

rm -f /var/log/*.gz /var/log/*.1

• Truncate current logs:

truncate -s 0 /var/log/syslog
truncate -s 0 /var/log/auth.log

4. Remove Unused Packages​

Free space by removing orphaned packages:

• For Debian/Ubuntu:

apt autoremove
apt clean

• For CentOS/RHEL:

yum autoremove
yum clean all

5. Clear Cache​

Remove stored .deb or .rpm files:

• APT cache:

rm -rf /var/cache/apt/archives/*

• YUM cache:

rm -rf /var/cache/yum

6. Delete Temporary Files​

Clean up temp directories:

rm -rf /tmp/*
rm -rf /var/tmp/*

7. Clean User Trash​

For all users:

rm -rf /home/*/.cache/*
rm -rf /home/*/.local/share/Trash/*

8. Remove Old Backups​

Search for old or backup files:

find / -type f \( -name "*.bak" -o -name "*.old" \)

Inspect before deleting.

9. Analyze with ncdu​

Use ncdu for a navigable summary:

apt install ncdu      # Debian/Ubuntu
yum install ncdu      # CentOS/RHEL

ncdu /

10. Update OpenPanel (Optional)​

Updating OpenPanel removes previous docker images

opencli update --force

Tip: Enable disk usage alerts via OpenAdmin > Settings > Notifications.